Nice House, MD
by Trippett
Summary: Gregory House, M.D., is a medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. I'll be editing Season 1 so House isn't angry at everyone, he's just sarcastic. Don't like it, don't read it.


HOUSE, M.D.  
1X01: PILOT

DISCLAIMER:

* * *

"HOUSE" and other related entities are owned, (TM) and © by Heel And Toe Films and Bad Hat Harry Productions in association with NBC Universal Television. All Rights Reserved. This story is posted here without their permission, approval, authorization or endorsement. Any reproduction, duplication, distribution or display of this material in any form or by any means is expressly prohibited. It is absolutely forbidden to use it for commercial gain.

**Elementary School**

Rebecca Adler smiled as she rounded the corner to see her best friend walking down the hallway.

"Why are you late?" Melanie asked her, as soon as Rebecca got in step with her.

"You're not going to like the answer." Rebecca replied with a smug smile.

"I already know the answer." Her best friend said simply.

"I missed the bus!" She clarified quickly

Melanie grinned, "I don't doubt it, no bus stops near Brad's. You spent the night, the alarm didn't work. Or maybe it did."

"I did not sleep with him!"

Melanie shook her head, "Girl, there's..."

"...I missed the bus!" She said again.

Melanie lowered her voice, "There's something either very wrong with you, or there's something very wrong with him."

"There's nothing wrong with him." Rebecca stated with a satisfied smile.

"Please tell me you know that for a fact." Melanie asked curiously.

"Melanie, I gotta go." Rebecca said with a smile as they turned another corner and came to her Class Room.

"You're lying aren't you?" Melanie asked as they slowed down in front of the door.

"I wouldn't lie to you." Rebecca stated simply, before walking into the room. "Good morning guys!" She said in greeting to her class of 5 year olds.

"Good morning, Miss Rebecca!" The class chanted.

"Everybody's in their seats?" She asked as she made her way through the middle of the room to stand behind her desk.

"Yes!" They replied quickly.

"Ok." She stated happily, taking off her jacket and sticking it on the back of the chair. Straightening up, she glanced at the class. "Sidney! Why don't you tell us what you did this weekend." She asked the little girl, moving to stand in front of her desk. "Come on, Sidney. We know you're not shy." She said after a moment.

Sidney fidgeted in her seat before finally asking, "How come we always have to tell you what we did, and you never tell us what you did?"

The class giggle at her question, all turning back to face Rebecca.

Rebecca nodded her head, "Ok," She said, staring at Sidney, before turning around to pace the front of the room. "I had a really great weekend, but you can't tell Miss Melanie, ok?"

"What did you do?" Another little girl asked from the back of the class.

Rebecca looked over to her, thinking about her response. "I made a new friend. It's so much fun to make new friends, isn't it?" She asked them.

The class all muttered their agreement.

"Did you tell your mom and dad about your new friend?" The girl asked quietly, fiddling with a crayon.

Rebecca hesitated, before nodding, "Absolutely!" She stated, "You should never keep anything from your parents. And I told mine..." Her sentenced stopped when she began talking in gibberish.

The class giggled, but Rebecca frowned, before letting out a small laugh and trying again, just to come to the same result.

Trying once more, she closed her eyes for a moment as the room started spinning. Opening them, she spun around and walked over to the white board, beginning to write quickly.

"C"

"A"

"L"

"H"

"E"

"The!" Sidney shouted happily from the back, not noticing something was wrong. "We know that word; the!"

Rebecca continued writing, before she closed her eyes again, and not managing to hold herself up any longer, she fell to the ground and began convulsing.

On the board, she had written 'Call The Nurse.'

**Princeton Plainsboro**

"29 year old female, first seizure one month ago, lost the ability to speak. Babbled like a baby. Present deterioration of mental status."

"See that?" House asked as he and his best friend walked down the hallway of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, "They all assume I'm a patient because of this cane." He stated happily, ignoring Wilson.

"So put on a white coat like the rest of us." Wilson stated simply, like he'd had this conversation before.

"I don't want them to think I'm a doctor." House said as he continued to limp his way down the hall.

"You see where the administration might have a problem with that attitude?" Wilson asked incredulously.

House butted straight in, "People don't want a sick doctor." He stated calmly.

Wilson nodded to himself, "That's fair enough. I don't like healthy patients." He told him, before getting back on track, "The 29 year old female…"

"The one who can't talk? I liked that part."

Wilson stopped and faced House with a sigh, "She's my cousin." He told him.

House stopped as well, before glancing down at the Patient Folder in Wilson's hand. "And your cousin doesn't like the diagnosis." He stated, "I wouldn't either. Brain tumour." He sighed.

Wilson shook his head when House began to limp away again. "No wonder you're such a renowned diagnostician." He said, as he went to catch up with him. "You don't need to actually know anything to figure out what's wrong."

House frowned slightly, "You're the oncologist; I'm just a lowly infectious disease guy."

Wilson smiled, "Hah, yes, just a simple country doctor." He quipped, "Brain tumours at her age are highly unlikely."

House nodded, "She's 29. Whatever she's got is highly unlikely."

Wilson shuffled through the folder to read a test result. "Protein markers for the three most prevalent brain cancers came up negative." He read from the sheet.

House glanced down at the paperwork. "That's an HMO lab; you might as well have sent it to a high school kid with a chemistry set." He dismissed it.

Wilson looked back up, "No family history."

House turned to stare at him. "I thought your uncle died of cancer." He stated with a frown.

Wilson shrugged it off. "Other side." He replied evenly, before continuing, "No environmental factors."

"That you know of."

Wilson turned back to him again as they stopped in front of House's Office. "And she's not responding to radiation treatment."

"None of which is even close to dispositive." He said truthfully, taking out a small bottle of pills. "All it does is raise one question." He opened the bottle and poured two of the pills onto his hand, "Your cousin goes to an HMO?" He asked as he chucked them into his mouth and swallowed them, dry.

"Come on!" Wilson pleaded soberly, "Why leave all the fun for the coroner?"

House sighed and glanced down the hall, as Wilson continued.

"What's the point of putting together a team if you're not going to use them? You've got three overqualified doctors working for you. Getting bored."

House looked to Wilson, who was staring back. House gave a small nod. "Okay." He said simply, holding his hand out for the Patient Folder.

"Thank you." His best friend said, handing over the folder and beginning to walk off. "I'll meet you for lunch if I'm not busy."

House remained silent watching him walk away, before nodding once more to himself and walking into his office.

**House's Office**

An hour later, once all of his team had arrived and been briefed, he asked for a differential diagnosis.

"It's a lesion." Foreman dismissed it instantly.

House stared at the MRI on the board, "And the big green thing in the middle of the bigger blue thing on a map is an island." He quipped, before glancing at his three employees, "I was hoping for something a bit more creative." He added quietly.

"Shouldn't we be speaking to the patient before we start diagnosing?" Foreman asked, as House limped over to his desk.

"Is she a doctor?" House asked, coming to a standstill, his back toward the large window.

"No, but…"

"Everybody lies." House told them, revealing his professional motto.

"Dr. House doesn't like dealing with patients." Cameron whispered to Foreman, walking over to a chair near House's desk.

Foreman turned to look at her, "Isn't treating patients why we became doctors?" He asked quietly.

"No," House replied, having heard him, "treating illnesses is why we became doctors, treating patients is what makes most doctors miserable."

Foreman sat down, looking back to House, "So you're trying to eliminate the humanity from the practice of medicine..."

House shrugged evenly. "If you don't talk to them they can't lie to us, and we can't lie to them. Humanity is overrated." He said, ending that particular discussion, "I don't think it's a tumour." He told them with a frown.

Foreman sighed, "First year of medical school; if you hear hoof beets you think "horses" not "zebras"."

House squinted, "Are you in first year of medical school?" He asked Foreman, "No." He answered his own question. "First of all, there's nothing on the CAT scan. Second of all, if this is a horse then the kindly family doctor in Trenton makes the obvious diagnosis and it never gets near this office." He sighed, before glancing back at the MRI. "Differential diagnosis, people: if it's not a tumour, what are the suspects? Why couldn't she talk?"

Chase thought for a moment before pitching in a few ideas, "Aneurysm, stroke, or some other ischemic syndrome."

House instantly nodded, "Get her a contrast MRI."

Cameron titled her head, before tentatively putting her own diagnosis forward, "Creutzfeld-Jakob disease?"

"Mad cow?" Chase asked Cameron with a frown, who nodded.

"Mad zebra." House said with a nod and a smile.

"Wernickie's encephalopathy?" Foreman stated.

House frowned before shaking his head, "No, blood thiamine level was normal."

Foreman shrugged slightly, "Lab in Trenton could have screwed up the blood test." He replied evenly, "I assume it's a corollary if people lie, that people screw up."

House stared at him in thought, before giving another nod, "Re-draw the blood tests." He said in agreement. "And get her scheduled for that contrast MRI ASAP. Let's find out what kind of zebra we're treating here.

**Hospital Hallway**

House sighed as he waited outside the elevator, before turning his head to see the Dean of Medicine herself walking down the corridor. Frowning, he looked straight ahead, hoping to avoid her. He pressed the elevator button twice to hurry it up.

"I was expecting you in my office 20 minutes ago." Cuddy stated when she noticed him and stopped next to him.

"Really?" House asked her with a frown, "Well, that's odd, because I had no intention of being in your office 20 minutes ago."

Cuddy raised an eyebrow at him, "You think we have nothing to talk about?" She asked him evenly.

House shrugged slightly, "No, just that I can't think of anything that I'd be interested in."

"I sign your pay checks." Cuddy told him.

House nodded, but shrugged, "I have tenure." He replied, as the lift doors opened and he limped inside. Turning back to Cuddy, he asked, "Are you going to grab my cane now, stop me from leaving?" He pressed the button for his floor.

Cuddy shook her head, "That would be juvenile." She told him, before walking into the lift with him.

Cuddy settled in next to him, watching him with a smile. "I can still fire you if you're not doing your job."

House turned to her, "I'm here from 9 to 5."

"Your billings are practically nonexistent."

House nodded with a shrug, "Rough year."

"You ignore requests for consults!"

"I call back. Sometimes I misdial." House told her evenly.

"You're 6 years behind on your obligation to this clinic!"

"See, I was right!" House interrupted her. "This doesn't interest me."

"6 years, times 3 weeks; you owe me better than 4 months." She told him.

"It's 5:00." He stated out of no-where, "I'm going home."

Cuddy faced the door, looking like she was sucking lemons, "To what?"

House moved forward as the doors opened and blinked back surprise at her comment. "Nice..." He said quietly, walking out of the elevator.

Cuddy followed him after a second, "Look, Dr. House...the only reason that I don't fire you is because your reputation is still worth something to this hospital." She told him honestly as they came to stand at the receptionists desk in the lobby.

"Excellent," House stated as he stopped to turn to her, "we have a point of agreement. You aren't going to fire me."

"Your reputation won't last up if you don't do your job! The clinic is part of your job. I want you to do your job!"

House looked up to the ceiling, before glancing down at her. "I have a case. I'm busy doing my job, so I don't have time to do that unimportant part." He told her, turning back around and limping off.

**Hospital Hallway**

Rebecca glanced up from her position in the wheelchair, "You aren't my doctor, are you Dr. House?" She asked the man standing beside her.

Chase shook his head, glancing down at her, "No. I'm Dr. Chase."

Cameron smiled at her, standing the other side of her, "Dr. House is the head of diagnostic medicine." She told her, "He's very busy, but he has taken a keen interest in your case."

**MRI Room**

Foreman stuck the needle into a vile, withdrawing the liquid. "We inject gadolinium into a vein. It distributes itself throughout your brain and acts as a contrast material for the magnetic resonance imagery." He explained to Rebecca, who was laying on the MRI table.

"Basically, whatever's in your head lights up like a Christmas tree." Cameron said to explain it in a less complicated manner.

Rebecca nodded, so Foreman continued, "It might make you feel a little light-headed."

"Dr. Cameron?" A nurse asked from the MRI's control room, "I'm sorry, I have to stop you, there's a problem."

**Cuddy's Office**

House barged into Cuddy's office, instantly raising his voice, "You pulled my authorization!"

Cuddy glanced up from her paperwork, placing her pen down. "Yes, why are you yelling?"

"No MRIs, no imaging studies, no labs." He continued as he made his way into the centre of the room.

Cuddy placed some paperwork in a Patient File before looking back at him, "You also can't make long distance phone calls..."

House limped to her desk, "If you're gunna fire me at least have the guts to face me!"

"...Or photocopies." She added, "you're still yelling." She said, placing the file down.

"I'm ANGRY!" He yelled at her, "You're risking a patient's life!"

Cuddy watched him, "I assume those are two separate points..."

"You showed me disrespect, you embarrassed me and as long as I still work here you have no..."

Cuddy held up her hands to stop him, "Is your yelling designed to scare me because I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be scared of." She lowered her hands onto the table, "More yelling?" She asked him, before continuing, "That's not scary. That you're gunna hurt me? That's scary, but I'm pretty sure I can outrun ya." She said with a slight chuckle.

House sighed, calming slightly. "Ha, that's funny." He told her sarcastically, as he pulled out his Vicodin pills and put two onto his palm, "So, because you want me to treat patients, you aren't letting me treat patients?" He asked, before chucking the pills to the back of his throat.

Cuddy sighed, standing up, "I need you to do your job." She said evenly.

House frowned, raising his arms in the air, "Hello?!" He said, raising his voice slightly again, "That's what I'm trying to do!"

Cuddy shook her head, "I need you to man the clinic!" She told him once again. "Look," She said, thinking quickly, "four hours a week is all I'm asking. That's hardly unreasonably. You spend the majority of your time doing nothing as it is."

**Outside Cuddy's Office**

House grumbled as he walked out of her office to find his team and Wilson waiting for him. "Do the MRI, she folded." He told his team, who left to do as he said. He turned to Wilson, "I've gotta do four hours a week in this clinic until I make up the time I've missed."

"Well, that should make the nurses miserable." Wilson told him with a smile.

House sighed and did some quick math. "2054." He said suddenly, "I'll be caught up in 2054." He began walking over to the clinic, which was right next to the office. "You better love this cousin a whole lot." He shouted back to Wilson.

**MRI Room**

Cameron sat down in her chair next to Chase in the MRI control room, after getting Rebecca set up on the table. Pressing the com button, she said "All right Rebecca, I know you may feel a little claustrophobic in there, but we need you to remain still."

Chase started to turn on the machine, "Ok, we're gunna begin."

As the machine starts up, and starts emitting funny noises, Rebecca begins to fidget.

"I don't feel so good."

Chase didn't take his eyes from the screen in front of him. "It's all right. Just try to relax." He told her.

As she tries to do as she was told, she began choking as her airways closed.

Cameron looked out of the window to Rebecca. "Rebecca?" She asked over the intercom. "Rebecca?" She tried again, "Rebecca!" She turned to Chase, "Get her out of there."

Chase remained calm, "Ah she probably fell asleep; she's exhausted." He said, eyes fixed to the data as Cameron got out of her chair.

"She was claustrophobic 30 seconds ago, she's not sleeping!" Cameron told him, moving to the door.

Chase glanced at her, "It'll just be another minute." He said, raising his hands, trying to placate her.

Cameron shook her head, walking into the room, beginning to press buttons. "She's having an allergic reaction to gadolinium; she'll be dead in two minutes!"

Foreman came in from behind them and went to the head of the table, which Cameron had just pulled out. "Hold her neck." He told Cameron, before he bent over her face.

Cameron frowned, "Oh, she's ashen."

Foreman straightened, "She's not breathing. Epi point five." He told Chase.

Cameron frowned, trying to push air into her lungs using a mask. "Come on..." She whispered, "I can't ventilate."

Foreman sighed, "Too much edema, where's the surgical airway kit?" He asked, looking over to Chase.

Chase nodded, rushing to grab the cart. "Yep, coming."

They all proceed to work; Cameron injecting some anaesthetic, before Chase begins to cut a whole down her throat. Proceeding to use a tool to open the wound, Foreman passes him a plastic guard, which he pushed down her throat to keep it open, along with a tube to help her get air. Twisting it in place, Cameron helps attach the air suppresser, before beginning to push air back into her lungs.

Chase sighed, glancing at Cameron. "Good call."

**Hospital Hallway**

House sighed, shaking his head as his team came out of Rebecca's hospital room. "Told you, can't trust people." He said, beginning to limp off.

Cameron rolled her eyes, "She probably knew she was allergic to gadolinium, figured it was an easy way to get someone to cut a hole in her throat." She said sarcastically from behind him as they continued to walk down the hall.

House ignored her, "Can't get a picture, gunna have to get a thousand words." He told Foreman, who was in step next to him.

Foreman smiled, "You actually want me to talk to the patient? Get a history?" He asked.

House smiled and nodded his head, "We need to know if there's some genetic or environmental causes triggering an inflammatory response."

They all came to a stop in the middle of the hallway.

"I thought everybody lied?" Foreman asked him, as they waited for the other two to catch up.

House stared at Foreman, "Truth begins in lies. Think about it." He said, giving him a small nod and limping off.

Foreman frowned, turning to the other two when they stopped. "That doesn't mean anything, does it?" He asked them, and they both shrugged.

**The Clinic**

House limps into the clinic and over to the receptionists desk. "12:52 PM, Dr. House checks in, please write that down." He told the woman sitting down there. "Do you have cable TV here somewhere?" He asked her after placing a file down, "General Hospital starts in 8 minutes."

Cuddy walks up from behind him, "No TV, but we've got patients?" She said, standing next to him and flipping through a Patient File in her hands.

House sighed, looking down at the file as well, "Can't you give out the aspirin yourself?" He asked her, "I'll do paperwork." He shrugged.

Cuddy ignored him, "I made sure your first case was an interesting one..." She told him.

House made an over caring face, "Cough just won't go away, runny nose looks a funny colour..."

Cuddy ignored him again, continuing, "Patient admitted complaining of back spasms..."

House's face went mock-serious, "I think I read about something like that in the New England Journal of Medicine!"

"Patient is orange." She interrupted him again, glancing over to him.

House frowned, eyes darting down to the file, before back up to her face. "The colour?" He asked.

Cuddy made a face, "No, the fruit." She said sarcastically, flipping through the file again.

House shrugged, "You mean yellow; it's jaundice." He dismissed it.

Cuddy shook her head, looking at him again, "I mean orange."

"Well, how orange?"

Cuddy smiled and handed him the file, "Exam room 1." She told him, walking away.

**Exam Room 1**

"I was playing golf and my cleat got stuck. I mean, it hurt a little but I kept playing. The next morning I could barely stand up." The Orange Man explained, "Well, you're smiling so I take it that means this isn't serious..."

House smiles and digs into his pocket for his Vicodin.

"What's that?" The man asked him, "What are you doing?"

"Painkillers." House explained quietly, looking down at them in his hand, before taking them.

"Oh, for you, for your leg." The man nodded.

"You want one?" House asked him, limping over to him, "It'll make your back feel better."

The man nods slowly, so House pours two pills onto the man's hand, before limping back to his spot by the door.

"Unfortunately," House started, "you have a deeper problem. Your wife is having an affair."

"What?!" The man asked after swallowing the pills.

"You're orange!" House explained, "It's one thing for you not to notice, but if your wife hasn't picked up on the fact that her husband has changed colour, she's just not paying attention. By the way, do you consume just a ridiculous amount of carrots and mega-dose vitamins?" He asked.

The guy nods slowly, mouth open.

House nodded, "The carrots turn you yellow, the niacin turns you red. Get some finger-paints and do the math. And get a good lawyer." He told the man, before opening the door and limping out.

**Exam Room 3**

"Deep breath." House says to the little boy, his stethoscope to the boys back.

The boy takes a breath, "It's cold." He states.

House exhales, taking off the stethoscope, before looking over to the boy's mother, "Has he been using his inhaler?"

The mother smiled at him, "Not in the past few days." She lets out a breathy laugh, "He's, um, only ten. I worry about children taking such strong medicine so frequently."

House walks over to the cabinets with a frown, before looking back to the mother.

"What happened to your leg?" The boy asked, but after this the little boy starts to wheeze a little.

"Your doctor probably was concerned about the strength of the medicine, too." House agreed, limping over to the window, before turning back to them, "She probably weighed that danger against the danger of not breathing." House let out a quiet sigh, "Oxygen is important during the prepubescent years." He told her, picking up the Patient File, only to place it onto the bed, "Ok, I'm gunna assume that no body's ever told you what asthma is, or if they have, you had other things on your mind. A stimulant triggers cells in your child's airways to release substances that inflame the air passages and cause them to contract. Mucus production increases, cell-lining starts to shed. But the steroids, the steroids…" House frowned slightly as he stared at the boy, thinking fast, "stop the inflammation. The more often this happens…" He trails off, before turning and limping to the door.

"What? "The more often this happens…"what?" The mother asks him as he opens the door.

House continued walking out, saying, "Forget it. If you don't trust steroids, you shouldn't trust doctors."

**Rebecca's Hospital Room**

"My mother passed away three years ago. She had a heart attack, and my father broke his back doing construction." Rebecca said, her throat dry and croaky.

Cameron looked away from Rebecca as her pager went off, glancing down to the small screen. "It's House, it's urgent." She looked over her shoulder to Foreman, "I'm sorry." She told Rebecca, as she moved past Foreman and went out of the room, Foreman following behind her.

As soon as they walked out of the door, they saw House waiting for them.

Cameron stopped next to him and blinked, "You couldn't have knocked?" She asked.

House remained silent, before closing the sliding door. Turning to face Cameron, he immediately said, "Steroids. Give her high doses of prednisone."

Foreman frowned, "You're looking for support for a diagnosis of cerebral vasculitus."

Cameron frowned as well, "Inflammation of the blood vessels in the brain is awfully rare. Especially for someone her age."

House nodded, "So is a tumour." He told her gently, before explaining his diagnosis, "Her SED rate is elevated."

"Mildly!" Foreman cut in.

Cameron thought about it for a second, "That could mean anything, or nothing."

House sighed, and nodded once more. "Yeah, I know. I have no reason to think that it's vasculitus except that it could be. If the blood vessels were inflamed that's gunna look exactly like what we saw on the MRI from Trenton County, and the pressure's gunna cause neurological symptoms."

Cameron stared at House, "You can't diagnose that without a biopsy."

House nodded, "Yes, we can. We treat it. If she gets better we know that we're right."

"And if we're wrong?" Cameron asked.

House sighed again, staring back. "Then we learn something else." He told her with a slight shrug.

**Hospital Room**

"Why steroids?" Rebecca asked as Chase shone a torch into her eyes.

"It's part to your treatment." Chase said evasively, "You haven't had many visitors. No boyfriend?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

"Three dates." She explained sadly, "I wouldn't have stood by him if he were vomiting all day."

Chase smiled slightly, "Well, what about work? You must have friends from work."

Rebecca smiled as well, "Pretty much everybody I like is 5 years old." She told him, before frowning, "A nurse said you're stopping my radiation."

Chase nodded as he stepped back, "We're just trying some alternative medications." He told her as Cameron came to stand next to him. "So, where's your family from then?" He asked, trying to change the subject again.

Rebecca reached out and grabbed his hand, "Steroids aren't an alternative to radiation."

Chase nodded, "The tests weren't really conclusive." He said, trying to explain.

"We're treating you for vasculitus, it's the inflammation of blood vessels in the brain." Cameron spoke up from beside him.

"It's not a tumour? I don't have a tumour?" Rebecca asked with a smile.

Cameron smiled back.

**Hospital Hallway**

Cameron walked out of her room, Patient File in hand. Chase followed her out.

"Hey. You shouldn't have told her the truth. It's a long shot guess." He told her.

Cameron sighed and handed the file to a nurse at the counter. "Thank you." She told the nurse, before continuing to walk off. "If House is right, no harm, if he's wrong we've given a dying woman a couple of days hope."

"False hope."

Cameron turned to him, "If there was any other type available I would have given her that!" She said, before walking off.

**School Classroom**Foreman bends down, and sniffs at the carpet.

"Why are you smelling Billy's pants?" A little girl asked him.

Foreman looks up to her, "I'm not."

The girl smiles at him, "Looked like you were."

Foreman nods, "I was smelling the floor." He told her.

"Oh."

Foreman watched her suspiciously, "Do you have any pets in this class?" He asked her.

"No, but we used to have a gerbil, but Carly L. dropped a book on it." She said, before pointing over to an old cage.

Foreman smiled, raising his shoulders, "Careless."

"Do you need to smell it?" The girl asked him.

Foreman looked down at the floor, before shaking his head. "No, I'm smelling for mould. I don't need to smell it. "

The girl smiled again, "You can smell our parrot."

Foreman frowned, "You said you didn't have any pets in this class."

The girl brushed some hair behind her ear, before explaining, "A parrot is a bird."

**The Cafeteria**

Foreman chewed on his Sandwich as House continued watching a Soap on a TV hanging from the ceiling. "Parrots are the primary source of psittacosis."

"It's not the parrot." House said without looking at him.

"Psittacosis can lead to..." He glanced up at the TV, only now noticing what House was looking at, "...nerve problems and neurological complications."

House ignored him, "How many kids were there in the class?"

"20."

"How many are home sick?" House asked,

Foreman frowned, "None, but…"

House looked away from the screen and over the table to Foreman. "None, but you think that 5 year olds are more serious about bird hygiene then their teacher." He stated, before returning his attention back to the screen, "You've been through her home?" House asked after a moment.

"She lives in Trenton. I can go up to her room tomorrow morning and ask her for the key..."

House stared at him with a frown, before glancing around, then back to him. "Would the police call for permission before dropping by to check out a crime scene?" He asked him.

"It's not a crime scene."

House shrugged, eyes darting to the TV again, "Far as I know she's running a Meth Lab out of her basement."

Foreman raised his eyebrows, "She's a kindergarten teacher!"

House returned his gaze, "And if I was a Kindergarten student I would trust her implicitly." He sighed quietly, staring at Foreman's sandwich. "Ok, I'll give you a for instance." He said, looking over to the food counters, "The lady back there, who made your egg-salad sandwich." He looked back to Foreman, "Her eyes look glassy, did you notice that? Now hospital policy is to stay home if you're sick, but if you're making $8.00 an hour, then ya kinda need the $8.00 an hour right? The sign in the bathroom says that employees must wash after using the facilities, but I figure that somebody who wipes snot on a sleeve isn't hyper concerned about sanitary conditions. So what do ya think? Should I trust her? I want you to check the patient's home for contaminants, garbage, medication…"

"...Whoa, oh, I can't just break into someone's house." Foreman said, as he placed his half eaten sandwich down on the table.

"Isn't that how you got into the Felker's home?" He asked, looking away from the TV again, "Yeah, I know, court records are sealed, you were 16, it was a stupid mistake, but your old gym teacher has a big mouth. You should write a thank you note." He told him, as he picked some fries from his plate.

Foreman frowned, "I should thank him?"

House nodded, before glancing around, "Well, I needed somebody around here with street smarts." He told him, before staring at him, "Ok? Knows when you're being conned, knows how to con."

Foreman shook his head and pointed his finger at House, "I should sue you!"

House frowned, "I'm pretty sure you can't sue somebody for wrongful hiring." He stated, not threatened.

Foreman shrugged, "But I'm pretty sure I can sue if you fire me for not breaking into some lady's house." He replied, before picking up his sandwich and finishing it.

**Exam Room 3**

House heard footsteps, so looked up from his Magazine to find Cuddy staring at him. He glanced back at his Magazine. "I'm doing research. People are fascinating aren't they?"

Cuddy placed her folders on the bed, and took off her glasses. "Why are you giving Adler steroids?"

House glanced back up to her with a frown, "Well, she's my patient that's what you do with patients. You give them medicine."

Cuddy sighed, "You don't prescribe medicine based on guesses. At least we don't since Tuskegee and Mengele." She stated, picking up a file.

House blinked, "You're comparing me to a Nazi? Nice."

"I'm stopping the treatment." She stated, before turning and leaving the room.

House frowned, before standing up and walking after her. "She's my patient."

Cuddy glanced over her shoulder, "It's my hospital."

House sighed, "I did not get her sick, she is not an experiment, I have a legitimate theory about what's wrong with her!"

Cuddy nodded, "With no proof."

House shook his head, "There's never any proof. 5 different doctors come up with 5 different diagnoses based on the same evidence."

Cuddy shrugged at him as they came to a stop in front of the elevators. "You don't have any evidence." She said, pushing the call button. "And nobody knows anything huh? Then how is it that you always assume you're right?"

House shrugged as well, "I don't, I just find it hard to operate on the opposite assumption. And why are you so afraid of making a mistake?"

Cuddy glanced at him, "Because I'm a doctor." She told him, as she walked away and started up the staircase, "Because when we make mistakes people die."

House begins to follow her, "Come on!" He stops at the bottom, contemplating whether or not he should follow her, before deciding against it. "People used to have more respect for cripples you know!" He shouted up after her.

**Rebecca's Hospital Room**

Cuddy smiled as she walked into the room, flipping through the file. "So, how ya feeling?"

Rebecca smiled as she dug into her meal, "Much better, thanks." She replied, before asking, "Are you Dr. House? I thought he was a he, but…?"

Cuddy smiled, shaking her head, "No." She paused, "Don't eat too much too fast." She told her.

Rebecca nodded, swallowing, "Thank him for me."

Cuddy nodded with a smile, "Right."

She picks up a file already on the table and walks out of the room, turning the corner to find House already standing there.

"Should I discontinue the treatment, boss?"

Cuddy sighed, "You got lucky." Was all she said, before walking off.

**Hospital Room**

Wilson smiled at her, his stethoscope to her back, "Ok, once again."

Rebecca takes a deep breath.

Wilson nodded his head, "Good." He said as he took his stethoscope out of his ears, placing it around his neck.

Rebecca glanced up to Wilson, "Am I ever gunna meet Dr. House?" She asked him.

Wilson chuckles slightly, "Well, you might run into him at the movies or on the bus." He told her, as he walked around the bed to her monitors.

Rebecca smiled, "Is he a good man?"

Wilson thought about it for a moment, before settling with, "He's a good doctor."

Rebecca looked down, "Can you be one without the other?" She asked him, "Don't you have to care about people?"

Wilson smiled, "Caring's a good motivator." He agreed, "He's found something else." He puts his hand out in front of her, so she grabs it. "Feel this?"

Rebecca murmured her affirmative.

"How about this?"

Rebecca nodded.

Wilson smiled, "Ok squeeze." He frowned slightly, "Harder. All right."

Rebecca smiled at him as he turned away, "He's your friend, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Does he care about you?" She asked.

Wilson thought for a moment, picking up the Patient File, "I think so."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. "You don't know?"

Wilson looked down, before shrugging, "As Dr. House likes to say, "Everybody lies.""

Rebecca shakes her head, "It's not what people say, it's what they do."

Wilson hesitates for a moment, before nodding his head, "Yes, he cares about me." He smiled, moving around the room as he glanced down at her charts.

"I can't see." Rebecca said suddenly, "I can't see!" She starts having a seizure and the monitors go crazy.

Wilson quickly turned around, going over to her bed, "A little help in here!" He shouted, just before the heart monitor flat lined.

**Rebecca's Hospital Room**

Rebecca stares down at the end of the bed, breathing in air through a mask, as Foreman hovers around her.

"Your chest will be sore for a while." He told her gently, "We needed to shock you to get your heart going." He sighed, and took out a bunch of cards with pictures on them, and placed them on the table in front of her. "Ok, can you arrange these to tell a story?"

**House's Office**

"She couldn't put them in order."

"Could the damage have been caused by a lack of oxygen during her seizure?" Chase asked from his position near a desk.

Foreman shook his head, "No, I gave her the same test 5 minutes later and she did just fine. The altered mental status is intermittent, just like the verbal skills."

"So, what now?" Cameron asked.

Foreman sighed, "Given the latest symptoms it's clearly growing deeper into the brain stem. Soon she won't be able to walk, she'll go blind permanently, and then the respiratory center will fail."

House stared at the floor, "How long do we have?"

"If it's a tumour we're talking a month, maybe two, if it's infectious a few weeks, if it's vascular that'll probably be fastest of all, maybe a week." Foreman replied, uncertain.

House nodded, standing up, "We're gunna stop all treatment." He told them, walking into the Team's Conference Room.

"I still think it's a tumour." Foreman said, as the they all followed him, "I think we should go back to the radiation."

"She didn't respond to the radiation." Chase said instantly, from behind Cameron.

"Well, maybe we didn't see the effects until we started steroids?"

House shook his head as he reached the sink, "No, it's not a tumour." He told them, pouring some milk into his cup, "The steroids did something, I just don't know what."

Foreman frowned, "So we're just gunna do nothing?" He asked him, "We're just gunna watch her die?"

House straightened up and nodded, "Yeah, we're gunna watch her die. Specifically we're gunna watch how fast she's dying. You just told us, each diagnosis has its own timeframe. When we see how fast it's killing her we'll know what it is."

Cameron stared at House, "And by then maybe there's nothing we can do about it!"

"There's got to be something we can do, something better than watching her die." Foreman told them.

House glanced to Foreman, "Well, I got nothing. How 'bout you?" He asked. When none of them put forth any idea's, he shook his head, "I didn't think so."

**Hospital Hallway**

Foreman sighed as he exited the room. "Bastard." He muttered, before turning to Cameron, who was walking beside him, "Oh, Cameron, I need you for a couple of hours."

Cameron nodded, "What's up?" She asked.

Foreman sighed, "When you break into someone's house; it's always better to have a white chick with you." He stated, rounding a corner.

Cameron frowned, "Adler's house? Why don't we just ask her for a key?"

"For all we know she could be running a meth lab out of her basement."

**Exam Room 2**

House stared at the guy.

"I'm tired a lot."

"Any other reason you think you may have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?" House asked him calmly.

"It's kinda the definition isn't it?" He asked.

House shrugged, "It's kinda the definition of getting older." He commented.

"I had a couple headaches last month, mild fever, sometimes I can't sleep, and I have trouble concentrating."

House nodded, looking down to the Patient File, "Apparently not while researching this stuff on the internet."

Guy sighed, "I was thinking it also might be fibromyalgia."

House looks contemplative, and then turns serious, "Excellent diagnosis!" He states sarcastically.

The guy obviously didn't catch it, however, as he said, "Is there anything for that?"

House sighs dramatically, "Ya know, I think there might just be." He said, nodding his head. He gets up and walks out of the exam room, straight to the dispensary. "I need 36 Vicodin, and change for a dollar."

The nurse behind the counter grumbles, but goes and fetches the Vicodin.

House gets his change and limps over to a candy machine. Slotting the change in, he gets white candies out of the machine, and goes back to the counter. He then takes the Vicodin and slips them into his pocket, exchanging them for the candy. "Exam room 2!" He told the nurse as he placed the container back onto the counter, before limping off.

**Rebecca's House**

"House doesn't believe in pretence. Figures life's too short and too painful. So he just says what he thinks." Cameron shouted to Foreman as she shuffled through Rebecca's bathroom.

"Nothing interesting in the garbage. "I say what I think" is just another way of saying "I'm an ass."" Foreman replied, looking under her kitchen sink.

"Well, if you wanted to be judged on your medical prowess only, maybe you shouldn't have broken into someone's home." Cameron suggested, looking around in the rest room.

"I was 16! Don't know about ticks, but her dog's definitely got fleas." He shouted, looking in the cloak room where there was a dog basket.

"I managed to make it to 17 without a criminal record." Cameron stated, poking her head into the loft.

Foreman opens the fridge door, glancing around in there, before taking out some ham and mustard. "Yeah? Well you obviously didn't grow up in my neighbourhood."

"That's right." Cameron said, walking into the kitchen, "You stole a loaf of bread to feed your starving family right?" She frowned, "You always eat during break-ins?"

Foreman shrugged as he took the items of food over to the table, "Am I supposed to respect their food more then I respect their DVD players?" He asked her, "You want some?"

"No." Was her instant reply.

Foreman smiled, "You gunna go hungry until she dies?" He asked her.

She shook her head, looking at photo's stuck to the fridge. "No."

Foreman opened the packet of ham, before pouring mustard onto it. "You know what, after centuries of oppression, decades of civil rights marches, and more significantly living like a monk, never getting less than a 4.0 GPA, you don't think it's kind of disgusting I get one of the top jobs in the country because I'm a delinquent?" He asked her, as she came to stand in front of him. "We'll eat, then we'll tear up the carpet."

Cameron frowned and sat down, "You went to Hopkins, right?"

Foreman nodded, "Yep."

"So, you went to a better school then I did, got better grades then I did." She stated.

Foreman laughed before glancing at her, "So how'd you get the job? Did you stab a guy in a bar fight?" He asked, placing a piece of the ham into his mouth.

Cameron remained quiet, frowning.

**House's Office**

"Nothing." Foreman stated with a sigh.

House turned around, "It's not a tumour," He stated, "she's getting worse too fast. She can't stand up."

"No toxins, no medication?" Wilson asked from his eat on a desk.

Foreman shook his head, "Nothing that would explain these symptoms."

"Family history of neurological problems?" Wilson tried again.

Foreman shrugged, "Not that I could tell from her underwear drawer."

Wilson smiled dryly.

"You said nothing that would explain these symptoms. What did you find that doesn't explain these symptoms?" House asked.

Foreman glanced at Cameron, before turning to House with a smile, "Dr. Wilson convinced you to treat this patient under false pretences." He stated boldly, "Adler's not his cousin."

"That's ridiculous." Wilson said with a shake of his head, "You can ask her yourself. Can we get back to…"

"She's not Jewish!" Foreman stated.

"Rachel Adler's not Jewish?" Wilson asked, disbelievingly.

Foreman shook his head, "I had ham at her apartment!"

Wilson chuckles, "Dr. Foreman, a lot of Jews have non-Jewish relatives, and most of us don't keep kosher. I can see getting through high school without learning a thing about Jews, but medical school…

Foreman nodded, but still smiled, "Ok, maybe she's Jewish, but she's definitely not your cousin."

"Really?" He turned to House, "This guy…he's…"

"You don't even know her name!" Foreman interjected, "You called her Rachel; her name is Rebecca!"

Wilson turned to Foreman, "Yes," He said, before explaining, "yes, her name is Rebecca. I call her Rachel."

"You idiot!" House said out of no-where.

Wilson turned to look at him, "Hey…listen…!"

House turned to look at Wilson, "Not you," He said, "him!" He stated, looking to Foreman, "You said you didn't find anything!"

"Everything I found was in..."

"You found ham!" House jumped in.

Foreman paused, "So?"

House sighed, "Where there's ham there's pork," He explained, "where there's pork there's neurocysticercosis."

Chase frowned, "Tapeworm?! You think she's got a worm in her brain?" He asked.

House shrugged, still thinking it over, "It fits. Could have been living there for years, it never occurred to me..."

Cameron looked up from her paperwork, "Millions of people eat ham every day. It's quite a leap to think that she's got a tapeworm." She stated.

House nodded his head, "OK, Mr. Neurologist." He said, looking to Foreman, "What happens when you give steroids to a person who has a tapeworm?"

Foreman thought for a moment, before nodding as well, "They, they get a little better and then they get worse."

Wilson sighed, "Just like Rebecca Adler did."

House limped into his office, telling them to stay put, and shuffled through a cabinet full of books. Wilson discreetly left to see his patients. A minute later, he came strolling back into the room, dropping one onto the table, showing a tape worm. "In a typical case if you don't cook pork well enough you ingest live tapeworm larvae. They got these little hooks they grab onto your bowel, they live, they grow up, they reproduce.

Chase frowned again, "Reproduce? There's only got one lesion, and it's nowhere near her bowel."

"That's because this is not a typical case. Tapeworm can produce 20 to 30,000 eggs a day. Guess where they go." He told them, pacing the room.

"Out." Foreman said.

House shook his head, "Not all of them. Unlike the larvae, the egg can pass right through the walls of the intestines and into the blood stream. And where does the blood stream go?" He asked them.

Cameron sighed, "Everywhere."

House turned to look at them, "As long as it's healthy the immune system doesn't even know it's there. The worm builds a wall, uses secretions to shut down the body's immune response and control fluid flow." He paused, "It's really kinda beautiful." He added.

Foreman leaned back in his chair, "As long as it's healthy, so what do we do? Call a vet and nurse the little guy back to health?"

House shook his head, "It's too late for that. It's dying, and as it dies this parasite loses the ability to control the host's defences. The immune system wakes up and attacks the worm and everything starts to swell, and that is very bad for the brain."

Wilson walked back in, "It could still be a hundred other things. The eosinophil count was normal."

Chase nodded his head, "It's only abnormal in 30% of cases."

"Proving nothing." Wilson added.

House sighed, "No, no, no, no, you see, it fits, it's perfect! It explains everything!" He told them.

"But it proves nothing." Wilson told him.

House looked over to him, "I can prove it by treating it!"

Wilson shook his head, "No, you can't." He stated, "I was just with her, she doesn't want any more treatments, she doesn't want any more experiments, she wants to go home and die."

House sighed, leaning back against the wall.

**Rebecca's Hospital Room**

House open the sliding door quietly, before limping in. "Will you excuse us, please?" He asked a nurse that was checking her monitors.

The woman nods and leaves, closing the door behind herself.

"I'm Dr. House."

Rebecca stared at him, "It's good to meet you."

House sighed, glancing at the closed door, before looking back at her. "You have a tapeworm in your brain, it's not pleasant, but if we don't do anything you'll be dead by the weekend."

"Have you actually seen the worm?"

"When you're all better I'll show you my diplomas." He told her with a grim, half smile.

Rebecca remained quiet for a moment, "You were sure I had vasculitus too. Now I can't walk and I'm wearing a diaper. What's this treatment gunna do for me?" She asked quietly.

House shook his head. "I'm not talking about a treatment; I'm talking about a cure. But because I might be wrong, you want to die..."

Rebecca quickly changed the subject, "What made you a cripple?" She asked him.

House sighed, glancing down at his right leg, "I had an infraction."

"A heart attack?" She asked.

"It's what happens when the blood flow is obstructed. If it's in the heart it's a heart attack. If it's in the lungs it's a pulmonary embolism. If it's in the brain it's a stroke. I had it in my thigh muscles." He explained.

Rebecca frowned, "Wasn't there something they could do?"

House nodded, "There was plenty they could do, if they made the right diagnosis, but the only symptom was pain. Not many people get to experience muscle death." He told her quietly.

Rebecca watched him, "Did you think you were dying?"

"I hoped I was dying." House told her honestly.

"So you hide in your office, refuse to see patients because you don't like the way people look at you. You feel cheated by life so now you're gunna get even with the world. You want me to fight this. Why? What makes you think I'm so much better than you?"

"When you're scared, you'll turn into me." House said, fidgeting under her gaze.

Rebecca shrugged, "I just want to die with a little dignity."

House shook his head, "There's no such thing!" He told her quietly, but firmly. "Our bodies break down, sometimes when we're 90, sometimes before we're even born, but it always happens and there's never any dignity in it. I don't care if you can walk, see, wipe your own ass. It's always ugly, always." He continued, walking closer to her bed, "You can live with dignity, but we can't die with it." He finished.

Rebecca looked away from him for a moment, before turning back with tears running down her face, but she remained silent.

**Hospital Hallway**

House limped down the hallway slowly, watching as nurses and orderlies passed him, until he stood in front of his team. "No treatment."

"Maybe we can get a court order, override her wishes. Claim she doesn't have the capacity to make this decision!" Foreman suggested.

"But she does." House stated, staring at him.

"But we could claim that the illness made her mentally incompetent, right?" Cameron asked him.

"Pretty common result." Foreman agreed.

House shook his head, "That didn't happen here."

"He's not gunna do it." Wilson spoke up from behind Cameron, "She's not just a file to him anymore. He respects her."

Cameron raised an eyebrow, "So because you respect her, you're going to let her die?" She asked him.

House stared at Cameron for a moment, before shrugging, "I solved the case, my work is done." He told her, beginning to limp away. "Patients always want proof, we're not making cars here, we don't give guarantees."

"I think we can prove it's a worm." Chase told House's retreating form.

House turned around to stare at him.

"It's non-invasive, it's safe." Chase continued, walking over to House, "I'm not completely sure but…"

House hurried him, "Yeah, yeah, yeah what's the idea?"

"Have you ever seen a worm under an x-ray, a regular old no contrast 100-year-old technology x-ray? They light up like shotgun pellets. Just like on a contrast MRI..."

"...Which is the same thing as a CT scan, which we did, which proved nothing." Foreman told Chase.

House shook his head with a frown, thinking it over, "Worm cysts is the same density as the cerebrospinal fluid, we're not going to see anything in her head, but Chase is right," He said, pointing to the man in question, "he's right, we should x-ray her, but we don't x-ray her brain, we x-ray her leg, worms love thigh muscle. If she's got one in her head I guarantee you there's one in her leg!"

**Rebecca's Hospital Room**

"This here is a worm larva." Chase told Rebecca, pointing to a small dot on her x-ray.

"So, if it's in my leg, it's in my brain?" She asked him with a frown.

"Are you looking for a guarantee?" Chase asked her.

Rebecca opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.

"It's there, probably been there 6 to 10 years." He carried on.

"Could I have more?" She asked him.

Chase laughed slightly, "Probably." He looked over at her frown, before smiling, "It's good news."

Rebecca nodded, "What do we do now?"

Chase moved over to a table, his back to her, "Now we get you better." He said, before moving to her side with two pills and a cup of water, "Albendazole."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow, staring at the pills, "Two pills?"

Chase nodded, "Yeah, every day for at least a month with a meal."

"Two pills?" She asked again with a smile.

Chase smiled as well, "Yeah, possible side effects include abdominal pain, nausea, headache, dizziness, fever, and hair loss. We'll probably make you keep taking the pills even if you get every one of those.

Rebecca smirks, and then downs the pills.

**House's Office**

House limped down the hall, before turning and opening the door to his office to find Cameron sitting at his desk. He made a slight face at this, but continuing on into the room.

"Why did you hire me?" She asked him after a moment of silence.

House watched her as he came further into the room, "Does it matter?" He asked her.

"Kinda hard to work for a guy who doesn't respect you." She told him.

House frowned, "Why?"

"Is that rhetorical?" She asked him.

House shook his head, "No, it just seems that way because you can't think of an answer." He told her, limping into the conference room, "Does it make a difference what I think? I'm a jerk!" He said, turning back to her at the coffee pot, "The only thing that matters is what you think. Can you do the job?"

Cameron followed right behind him, "You hired a black guy because he had a juvenile record..."

House shook his head, "No, it wasn't a racial thing, I didn't see a black guy. I just saw a doctor…with a juvenile record. I hired Chase 'cause his dad made a phone call. I hired you because you are extremely pretty." He told her honestly, moving to face her properly.

Cameron frowned as House began to limp off again, "You hired me to get into my pants?!" She asked him.

"No," He denied adamantly, "I hired you because you look good; it's like having a nice piece of art in the lobby."

"I was in the top of my class." She said incredulously.

House continued moving until he was behind his desk. "But not THE top."

"I did an internship at the Mayo Clinic!" She said, sounding distressed.

House nodded, "Yes, you were a very good applicant."

"But not the best..." She stated.

House sighed quietly, before looking back up to her, "Would that upset you, really, to think that you were hired because of some genetic gift of beauty not some genetic gift of intelligence?

Cameron stood up straighter, "I worked very hard to get where I am."

House nodded one more, "But you didn't have to, and that's what I'm getting at. People choose the paths that grant them the greatest rewards for the least amount of effort. That's the law of nature, and you defied it. That's why I hired you. You could have married rich, could have been a model, you could have just shown up and people would have given you stuff. Lots of stuff, but you didn't, you worked your stunning little ass off. I respect you for that."

Cameron looked down, before back up at him, "Really?"

House stared at her, "Yeah. Really, really."

Cameron hesitates, and in that moment her pager goes off. "I have to go." She told him, before walking out of the Office.

**Rebecca's Hospital Room**

Chase and Cameron walk into Rebecca's room.

"Feeling any better?" Chase asked with a smile.

Rebecca smiled back, "I can't complain."

Chase nodded his head, "As you know the hospital has certain rules, and as you may also know, House tends to ignore them, but I think this one's gunna be a little obvious unless we get your help." He said, looking back to Cameron.

Cameron smiled and waved her hand, "If anyone asks, you have 11 daughters and 5 sons." She told Rebecca, as her Class came barrelling in door.

Rebecca's smiled grew wider and she spread out her arms, "Hi, you guys!" She shouted as they rushed to her bed. "Come here!"

They all crowd around her bed, and one of them passed her a large 'get well' card.

Rebecca took it happily, saying, "It's so good to see you guys! I missed you!" Glancing at the card, she asked, "Is this for me?"

Rebecca opened it and inside it said "Miss Rebecca we're glad you're not dead."

Rebecca laughed, "Oh, I love you guys." She looked up to Chase and Cameron, "I actually wanted to thank Dr. House, but he never visited again..."

Cameron smiled slightly, "He cured you, you didn't cure him."

Rebecca nodded her head, before returning her attention back to her class, "Ok, I want a hug and a kiss from every single one of you. Get up here right now!" She said to them, and they all jumped up onto the bed laughing and giggling.

**Exam Room 2**

"There." A female doctor on the mini TV said,

"Hold on." Her male counterpart said,

"She's converted."

House's focus remained on the TV, but he began a conversation with Wilson anyway, "You said she was your cousin. Why would you lie?" He asked.

Wilson shrugged, eyes still on the screen, "It got you to take the case." He answered honestly.

House frowned, "You lied to a friend to save a stranger, you don't think that's screwed up?"

Wilson smiled, letting out a small huff, "You've never lied to me?" He asked.

House shook his head, which was on top of his cane, as he continued to watch the Soap. "I NEVER lie."

"Oh, really." Wilson said quietly, looking down.

"Why do we do this?" The male Doctor on the TV asked,

"Because we're doctors, when we make mistakes people die." The female said.

House smirk, remembering when Cuddy used the same line earlier. Both the Doctors glance up as a nurse knocks on the door.

"Dr. House? You have a patient."

The nurse goes to the window and pulls the blinds away to reveal the guy that House gave the candy pills to.

"He says he needs a refill." The nurse told him, before walking out of the room.

House smiled slightly, shaking his head. He turned to Wilson, "Got change for a dollar?"


End file.
